This is a blog documenting me, Ian, who documents the lives of other people. I'll write a lot about life in Japan post 3/11 and also link videos from my YouTube Channel. 有り難う for stopping by.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Breaking Bread

Arriving in Taiwan this afternoon, I was met by festival staff member and translator Aiya at the airport. Her smile and excitement for the festival was contagious, and we hit the ground running heading straight for the festival after checking in to the hotel.

The Green Citizen's Action Alliance (GCAA), which sponsors the No Nuke's Film Festival ('A2-B-C' screening info HERE), is currently working to raise awareness about nuclear issues amid a strong debate in Taiwan regarding its current nuclear policy.

The trailer for this year's festival includes several clips from 'A2-B-C':

The festival is being held in a refurbished tobacco factory, which is a listed historical building that was built by the Japanese during the occupation of Taiwan and is now located in a cultural park.

In addition to the film festival, GCAA is sponsoring many nuclear-related events this week, including a market and photo exhibitions from Global Hibakusha and the heart-breaking work of Ota Yasusuke, who documents the animals left behind in the Fukushima no-go zone (pictured below, blog HERE).

After posing outside the festival venue in front of the Golden Horse (from Taipei's more well-known film festival), some of the GCAA staff treated the visiting artists to a delicious traditional "Taiwanese hotpot" dinner.

The more film festivals I have the honour of attending, the more it is solidified for me that they aren't merely about watching films. If that was all this was about, everyone could just stay home and watch the films on DVDs. This is about meeting, communicating, debating, interacting, breaking bread together, and trying to make this world a better place to live in one step at a time.